Plants have sustained the life of man since the beginning of the time. Their functionalities go beyond being wood for fire, instead, they are able to protect, provide and nourish. The many purposes of plants have been described by many. In this article, we will describe functional plants through the chemical perspective particularly the biologically active secondary metabolites. The initiatives in natural products studies can be traced to the early years of man when plants were used for health and treatment management as documented in traditional materia medica. In modern days, numerous phytochemicals have become the main ingredients in drugs, foods, cosmetics and many more after detailed and rigorous research programs which determine their safety and efficacy. In Malaysia, and Sabah in particular, efforts are planned and carried out to identify potential traditional plants that will be beneficial in their truest forms.
Students’ perception and preferences on teacher-written feedback (TWF) tend to vary in different learning contexts. This study explores the perceptions and preferences of TWF among 78 Malaysian ESL students in a public pre-university college in Malaysia. Quantitative data were obtained from a questionnaire to examine the students’ general attitude and perceptions of TWF, and their preferences of the types and amount of written feedback received on their written work. This study reveals that the ESL students had a positive attitude and perception of the teacher-written feedback practice based on the perceived usefulness of the feedback, and the integrative-feedback type that combines both the content and language feedback was mostly favoured. The result also shows that the students had a high preference for indirect coded corrective feedback strategy in highlighting language errors, and preferred a large amount of feedback that highlighted all errors on their written work. These findings potentially help teachers to make a more informed decision when using teacher-written feedback so as to cater to students’ varying needs and perceptions in order to improve its use in writing.
The highest formal academic qualification is the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Currently, in US alone, 1.77% of its population has doctorates or its equivalent degree holders. It differs in every country depending on the quality of education system that it has. As it is the highest recognition for academic performance, a lot have dreamt to hold the revered scroll. However, quite a number have failed trying. There are a lot of descriptions for the acronym PhD; the most frightening one, Permanent Head Damage. Upon reflection, one description fits well. The formula of success for obtaining PhD consists of the elements known as strategical Plan (P), the rich health (H) and the awesome determination (D). This paper is elaborating these three elements and more, required for a person who is attempting to acquire the degree based on a review of literature and my personal experiences. Hopefully, it will be able to help those who are still fighting their way through their journey.
Sabah, formerly known as North Borneo during the period of British colonisation from 1888-1963 produced many texts about the British presence and their activities on the island. This review highlights that the post-war studies especially Sabah’s colonial literature is the missing link to its alternative history. Colonial literature has left its legacy in the form of history, anthropology and art but also in the textual and literary representations of Sabah through a western lens. The critique of colonial fiction and non-fiction texts in former colonies in Malaya and Sarawak have paved the way for critical examination and commentary on the modes of representation of the indigenous and immigrants. This review discusses the highlights of postcolonial criticism in Malaysia. It briefly introduces some of the issues about postcolonial criticism in Sabah and its potential.
Rodents are the world’s largest group of small mammals with more than 2200 living species, comprising around 40 percent of all small mammal species existing today. Rodents are non-volant small mammals that weigh approximately less than 500g and inhabit various types of habitat such as grasslands, desert and even in human settlements. This review explained the roles, threats and distribution of rodents in the ecosystem they inhabit. Some species play critical roles as seed disperser, pollinator and even as laboratory subjects in many experiments. This article serves as an eye-opener about the rodent status distribution and abundance in natural and modified habitat, especially in Malaysia. This review of literature can provide knowledge to people to know more about rodents.
Several studies have indicated education inequality between rural students and urban students. In language learning, students in rural areas have lower proficiency in English than those in urban areas. The aims of the present study were to investigate the perceptions, instructional knowledge and classroom practices of English teachers in teaching reading in rural areas in Sabah. An online survey was conducted on a sample of 20 secondary English teachers in a teacher professional development programme in Kudat, Sabah. The implications of these findings for future practice in rural high schools are discussed.
A warrant is a security that allows the holder to buy and sell the underlying share at a
fixed price until expiry date. Warrant price will always fluctuates since the underlying
share also fluctuates. Hence, determining the warrant price is the main problem
among the investors in Malaysia. This research is focusing on pricing the warrant for
five companies that were listed in Bursa Malaysia. The companies were chosen
randomly from UiTM DataStream. The selected companies were Boon Koon Sdn
Bhd, Hovid Bhd, Kelington Bhd, ML Global Bhd and Tropicana Corporation Bhd.
The data contained underlying share, interest rate, exercise price and actual warrant
price. This research aims to define the price of warrant by using Binomial model.
Historical volatility and implied volatility were used in this research whereby
volatility is the movement of the underlying share price. This research aims at
comparing the actual warrant price with the calculated warrant price. The data were
computed manually by using Microsoft Excel and the comparison was made between
the two type of volatilities to give the nearest value of calculated warrant price to the
actual warrant price. The nearest value was assumed the best value for this research.
The result was made by analyzing the line graphs and comparing between historical
volatility and implied volatility with actual warrant price. Mean Square Error was
used to support the results that were obtained from the line graphs. In the end, implied
volatility yielded better results compared to historical volatility.
Canarium odontophyllum is a rare tropical fruit that is primarily propagated by seeds.
However, there is little information regarding its seed handling and germination. As
low seed moisture content (MC), generally that below 10%, is the key determinant to
successful seed storage while avoiding microbial damage, the objective of this study
was, hence, set to investigate C. odontophyllum’s seed germination as affected by
desiccation using drying beads (DBs) at room temperature or convection oven at
40C to varying seed MCs, from its initial MC of above 20% down to that below 10%.
It was found that the seeds tolerated fast dehydration within 24h at room temperature
using DBs. They retained 90% germination despite seed MC was reduced to below
10%. Desiccation tolerance with DBs was, however, found only with seeds extracted
from fresh fruits. As the fruits started rotting with wrinkled appearance and fungi on
the pericarp from four days after harvest onwards, the seeds extracted from them died
at MC of below 15%. A slower seed drying method using convection oven at higher
temperature of 40C, on the other hand, took 72h to bring the seed MC down to
Generally, pineapple sucker is used as the main planting material for commercial cultivation
of pineapple. Pineapple sucker is usually obtained either from the stalk or the stem of a
pineapple plant. Research to study the effect of planting media using mineral soil as the main
component for the mixture on the growth of sucker by stem cutting technique was conducted. The objective of this research is to study the effects of mineral soil-based mixed planting
media on the growth of pineapple suckers produced cultivated via stem cutting of Madu
pineapple. The research was conducted at the Pineapple Nursery of the Faculty of Sustainable
Agriculture, UMS Sandakan, from March 2019 until September 2019. The treatments used in
this research were, soil as T1 (100%); Soil:coco peat as T2 (1:1,v/v); Soil:peat soil as T3
(1:1,v/v); Soil:sand as T4 (1:1,v/v). The data obtained showed there is a significant difference
in the number of a successfully germinated sucker. However, no significant difference was
detected for the sucker growth parameters. Planting media T3, soil: coco peat recorded the
highest number of successfully germinated suckers (12.25). Meanwhile, for growing media, suggested T2 soil: peat soil were recorded the highest for root length (15.53 cm), leaf number
(18.00), and stem diameter (2.18 cm) at 60 days after transplant (DAT).
Most of the plants in the ginger family Zingeberaceae are well-known for their medicinal properties. However, the genus Hornstedtia found in Sabah is less reported. This research aims to investigate the phytochemical constituent and vitamin C content of a fruit, locally known as the Tolidus fruit in Sabah. The dried fruit sample was extracted using three solvents which were water, ethanol and methanol. The phytochemical constituents were determined using standard Colour Test for the presence of alkaloid, flavonoid, saponin and tannin. Then, the content of Vitamin C was determined using the standard Colorimetric Titration and ascorbic acid as standard. The phytochemical evaluation revealed that all three targeted constituents were present in all extracts except for the alkaloid. The vitamin C content was determined in both dried and fresh sample of fruits, where 52.84 mg was quantified in the fresh fruit aqueous extract and 23.93 mg in the dried fruit aqueous extract respectively. These results are comparable to the content of vitamin C in orange and lime fruits. The phytochemical evaluation and vitamin C content of Tolidus suggested the potential of this underutilised fruit to be the natural and affordable source of vitamin C. Additionally, may protect the body against harmful free radicals. However, further analysis is needed to determine other constructive natural contents and evaluate the efficacy of this fruit as a natural source of antioxidant
A retrospective study was carried out at one selected dairy farm located in Keningau, Sabah in order to evaluate the effect of age at first calving (AFC) on the productive performance of the
primiparous Sahiwal x Friesian crossbred dairy cows. The retrospective data was collected from 123 Sahiwal x Friesian crossbred dairy cows. AFC was classified into 7 groups such as:
≤22; 23-24; 25-26; 27-28 months old; 29-30; 31-32 and >32 months old, respectively. The productive performance parameters that were evaluated consisted of the first-lactation milk
yield, lactation length, average daily milk yield and dry period. Cows with AFC of 23-24 and 25-26 months of age showed the highest first-lactation milk yield, 7210.14± 384.84 litres and
7053.80± 342.98 litres, respectively. Cows with AFC of 23-24 months old have also showed the longest lactation length of 410.25± 19.51 days. However, cows with AFC of 23-24 months
of age produced the least average daily milk yield, that was about 17.62± 0.60 litres/day and cows that were calved at 29-30 months of age and >32 months of age produced the highest
average daily milk yield, that was about 24.10± 0.94 litres/day and 24.16± 0.79 litres/day, respectively. The study showed that AFC had a significant effect on the first-lactation milk
yield, lactation length and average daily milk yield of the Sahiwal x Friesian crossbred dairy cows (p0.05). Overall, cows with the AFC of 23-24 months old have showed the best productive performance
This study is focused on formulating a natural-based fabric softener using baking
soda and vinegar with the addition of insect repellent finish of citronella oil and
vanillin. The effectiveness of the fabric softener was evaluated by conducting a fabric
stiffness test on both untreated and treated fabric samples with the softener
formulated in this study. The assessment for the efficacy of insect repellence was
carried out using 3 human participants of the same gender and build but different
blood type, positioned at a mosquito infested area. Three tests; negative, positive, and
normal tests were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the formulated mosquito
repellent finishes in the fabric softener. The results show that the formulated fabric
softener is good mosquito repellent and it is good at giving a soft effect on the treated
fabric.
The Silver Reed Model LK150 knitting machine is a home knitting machine which is
extremely lightweight and compact, making it preferable by most home knitters.
There are various knitwears with interesting patterns can be made using this model. In
the field of garments manufacturing by using flatbed knitting machines, it is
important to understand the physical properties of fabric so that their impact on
dimensional changes can be predicted to produce the most suitable end use. The
samples were produced by using a blended bamboo/cotton yarn, with a composition
of 30% cotton and 70% bamboo. The main objectives of this study are to to evaluate
the physical properties of single jersey fabric knitted on home knitting machine by
using different stitch dials and to relate the physical properties with different stitch
lengths. Then, all tests were conducted to compare the physical properties of samples
between three different stitch dials and the effects of before and after washing. The
physical properties measured in this research were stitch length, stitch density, weight,
thickness, absorbency and shrinkage. The result indicated that the longer the stitch
length, the higher the percentage of the water impact penetration. Meanwhile, there
was a slight reduction on the density, thickness and fabric weight. In addition, the
result after three times washing showed that the samples only had slight changes in
density, thickness, weight and stitch length, but has significant changes on the water
impact penetration.
It is vital for educators to understand and match the learning needs of every student for learning to take place effectively. A detailed reference of the students’ entry characteristics, family background, and previous academic performance is useful in determining the materials and activities to be used with the students. The respondents of this study involved 103 students who enrolled in the pre-higher education programme. The characteristics to identify at-risk students are used as guidelines to redefine the definition of pre-higher education students. Therefore, the study aims to examine the characteristics of pre-higher education students based on their academic performance and socio-economic status. A quantitative method is used to gather more information about the basic entry characteristics, previous academic achievement, family background and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results of the students. The findings of the study help the researcher to define the terminology of the prehigher education programme. Having to confirm to the conceptual definition of the pre-higher education students helps the policy makers and institutions to develop a suitable learning programme to cater to their learning needs.
This study explores how laboratory activity with the argumentative approach could promote
students' conceptual understanding in the Hess' law energy cycle through laboratory work.
Laboratory work with an argument-based inquiry instructional strategy was set up to 15 preuniversity
students from one of the Form 6 Centre at the West Coast Division of Sabah,
Malaysia. The laboratory work consists of a guided inquiry-based instruction with an
argumentative approach in the topic of thermochemistry. The students' understanding of the
energy processes was analyzed with a qualitative method using a semi-structured interview
and triangulated with conversation analysis. The data collected from students' conversation
during the activity was then triangulated with reflective writing at the end of the laboratory
lesson. The study shows the students' prior knowledge and argumentation discourse
significantly influences the development of conceptual understanding. This study emphasizes
argument-based inquiry (ABIIS) in laboratory work to enhance their conceptual knowledge in
the laboratory.
Electromyography (EMG) is a random biological signal that depends on the electrode
placement and the physiology of the individual. Currently, EMG control is practically limited
by this individualistic nature and requires per session training. This study investigates the
EMG signals based on six locations on the lower forearm during contraction. Gesture
classification was performed en-bloc across 20 subjects without retraining with the objective
of determining the most classifiable gestures based on the similarity of their resultant EMG
signals. Principle component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were the
principal tools for analysis. The results showed that many gesture pairs could be accurately
classified per channel with accuracies of over 85%. However, classification rates dropped to
unreliable levels when up to nine gestures were classified over the single channels. The
classification results show universal classification based on a common EMG database is
possible without retraining for limited gestures.